Meaning & use
chaff
Last updated
the outer husks of grain separated from the seed during threshing, generally considered worthless
See it in a sentence
The wind carried the chaff away as the farmers threshed the wheat.
The editors separated the chaff from the genuinely strong submissions.
A note on using this word
The idiom 'separate the wheat from the chaff' means to distinguish what's valuable from what's worthless. As a verb, 'chaff' can also mean to tease someone good-naturedly.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
wheatgrain
Another way to use it
2. verb
to tease or make fun of someone in a good-natured way
His friends chaffed him about his terrible singing.
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